Tube Anemones

[MYDRAAL]

How do they reproduce?

 

[landlord]

Not sure if this helps but back in 2005 I watched mine shoot something similar to black poppy seeds. They just kept flowing out of the tube up into the water column. These were probably eggs or sperm packets or something like that but I am no scientist.

--landlord

 

[MYDRAAL]

I didn't think that they split, but was curious. Maybe someone else can chime in on the process. Thanks!

 

[Aquarist007]

you are both right

"The sexes in sea anemones are separate for some species while some are hermaphroditic. Both sexual and asexual reproduction may occur. In sexual reproduction males release sperm which stimulates females to release eggs, and fertilization occurs. The eggs or sperm are ejected through the mouth. The fertilized egg develops into a planula, which finally settles down and grows into a single anus. They can also reproduce asexually by budding, binary fission, which involves pulling apart into two halves, and pedal laceration, in which small pieces of the pedal disc break off and regenerate into small anemones"

http://search.com.com/reference/Sea_anemone

 

[MYDRAAL]

Ok, how do you get a single (tube) to reproduce? Is there a method out there to stimulate this or do you need two? Thanks for all the info:rollface:

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11665325#post11665325 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MYDRAAL
Ok, how do you get a single (tube) to reproduce? Is there a method out there to stimulate this or do you need two? Thanks for all the info:rollface:

they do it on their own and quite well:eek2: pretty soon you'll want to get rid of some

with tubes you have to keep them a good distance from your coral --they really have a long reach esp at night

 

[Hormigaquatica]

I think the distinction needs to be made here that Tube Anemones (Cerianthids) are not the same as True Anemones. They are actually unrelated groups, with very distinct biology. The common modes of reproduction seen in aquariums with true anemones- pedal laceration, budding, fission, etc- have never been observed in an aquarium in Cerianthids.

Heres a quick quote from an article by Robert Toonen on Cerianthids:

The species that have been studied are protandric hermaphrodites, meaning that small or young individuals are males, and the animal switches to being a female at some point in their lives (possibly triggered by some size or age threshold). Sexual reproduction apparently occurs by the release of gametes into the water column. There are several reports of a tiny tube anemone being found within the body cavity of an adult, but it is unclear whether this is evidence for internal brooding or an aberrant developmental pathway. Likewise, there is some evidence that these animals are capable of reproducing asexually, but to date there is no evidence that this has occurred in an aquarium. Regardless of the exact method of reproduction, the chances that your tube anemone will reproduce in captivity are very slim, indeed.

The rest of the article can be found
HERE . Good stuff...